By Adegboyega Adeleye

Super Falcons of Nigeria have qualified for the 2024 Olympics after a 16-year absence from the competition.

The Coach Randy Waldrum-led side secured qualification on Tuesday after seeing out a goalless draw against Bayana Bayana of South Africa to win 1-0 on aggregate.

The second leg played on Tuesday evening in Pretoria ended in a goalless draw as the spirited Falcons ensured Nigeria qualified for her first Olympic games since 2008–a historic feat for the nation’s female football team.

Nigeria were resolute in defence to resist all goalscoring opportunities which the South African team initiated to score a goal.

The Falcons had secured a 1-0 win over the Banyana Banyana in the first leg of the fixture played at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja on Friday.

A first half penalty by Rasheedat Ajibade was enough to place the Falcons on the right pedestal on Friday as Coach Randy Waldrum’s girls secured an important advantage that sealed their qualification.

Uchenna Kanu came close to breaking the deadlock in Pretoria but her effort from the right was deflected for a corner by a South African defender while Chiamaka Nnadozie was confident in goal for the Falcons.

The Falcons, who reached the quarter-final at last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, have now qualified for the women’s football event for the first time since 2008.

They lost in the third round of qualifiers in 2016 (Rio, Brazil) and 2020(Tokyo, Japan) to Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast respectively.

The Falcons have only previously played at the Olympics in 2000, 2004 and 2008.

The 2024 Olympics is slated to take place in Paris, France, from July 26 to August 11, 2024.